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DAnthony.Fisc
Mar17-11, 02:40 PM
Is there a certain material that absorbs X-Rays so that the X-Rays don't escape. Or rather, is there a material that stops the X-Rays from continuing. If there is such a material, is there a way to change the X-Ray into an electrical current?

Astronuc
Mar17-11, 02:48 PM
Is there a certain material that absorbs X-Rays so that the X-Rays don't escape. Or rather, is there a material that stops the X-Rays from continuing. If there is such a material, is there a way to change the X-Ray into an electrical current? Yes - the higher the atomic number, Z, which is also the number of electrons surrounding the nucleus, the more electrons there are to scatter X-rays. Atomic density is another factor - more atoms/electrons per unit volume.

The proposed mechanism implies the photoelectric effect. The X-rays would knock electrons off one electrode to the other. The charge separation would produce a voltage. As long as the electrons pass through the load, rather than jump back across the gap, then one could have power supply.

However, one must consider how the X-rays are to be produced, and how much energy is required. Radioactive decay might work.

Then one has to consider that X-rays are penetrating, so they may knock around electrons within the volume of the electron, rather than from the surface.